CSS Appomattox

CSS Appomattox was a small propellor-driven steamer used by the Confederate Navy to defend the sounds of northeastern North Carolina. It was burned to prevent capture on February 10, 1862, near Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Originally known as the Empire, this boat was bought in 1861 at Norfolk. It was armed with two guns and assigned to the waters along the North Carolina coast under the command of Lt. C. C. Simms, CSN. Appomattox was used to patrol Pamlico Sound after the Confederacy lost Hatteras Inlet to the Federals in 1861. She was also used to obstruct channels in the Croatan Sound area by towing block-ships to strategic points for sinking. The Appomattox was one of 8 gunboats used to resist the Burnside Expedition's invasion of Roanoke Island on 7-8 February 1862. She retreated with the survivors of that battle to Elizabeth City, N.C. However, on February 10, following the rout of the Confederate fleet in the Pasquotank River, the Appomattox tried to escape through the Dismal Swamp Canal. Upon reaching the first lock it was discovered that her beam was 2 inches too great to let her into the canal. As a result Lieutenant Simms had to destroy her by setting her on fire.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• William Parker, Recollections of a Naval Officer, Naval Institute Press, 1985.

• Christopher Olson, An Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the CSS Curlew; Masters Thesis, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina,1997.